Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 686: The God of Death and the Hell Corps

The white flames that devoured Obren were due to Minhyuk’s Overlord’s Technique, after its appearance had been altered by the Sacred Papal Sword. Obren was slowly turning to ash and disappearing into the wind.

“Obreeeeeeeeen! We’re soooooorryyyyy! Sob, sob, sob!”

“Forgive us, Obreeeeeeen!”

The popes, priests, paladins, and saints that saw Obren of the Past’s state cried loudly. Among them, a man trudged forward, dragging his body towards Obren. Although he stumbled and fell, he desperately kept on standing up to walk towards the fallen god. There was a sad look in his eyes as he hugged Obren’s body tightly until they completely turned into ashes.

“Obren… You can rest easy now. I hope you can be happy beside this man. As for me? I will go to hell now,” Kronad cried. The punishment that he would receive was what he deserved. They would be dragged to hell and suffer there for all eternity in pain.

Meanwhile, the notifications continued to ring in Minhyuk’s ears.

[You have sent the Berserk Obren of the Past to his eternal rest.]

[You have gained 132,149 platinum.]

[You have gained 54,144,000,000 EXP.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[…leveled up.]

[Because the Berserk Obren of the Past’s existence was not complete, you will not be able to acquire artifacts, skill books, titles and many more.]

Minhyuk felt that the last notification was a bit of a bummer. Thankfully, he was able to increase his level by five times and acquire a huge amount of platinum. He was actually waiting for another set of notifications.

[You have completed the Hidden Quest: Berserk Obren.]

[You have become the owner of the Unfinished Evangel!]

[You have gained 1,000 Holy Power.]

[The Unfinished Evangel is a temple that even the gods desired and coveted!]

[The level of your temple is very low.]

[You cannot control the Unfinished Evangel.]

[To have full control over Evangel, you should first increase your temple’s level to Level 7.]

[Athenae’s First Pope and the Pope of all Religions, Kronad, has bestowed power upon you.]

[You can use the Unfinished Evangel for ten minutes once.]

[Obren, who had fallen into an eternal slumber inside the Puzzling Seasoning Jar, has returned!]

[Obren had fallen into a deep slumber inside the Puzzling Seasoning Jar for a very long time and had grown weak.]

[He is still slumbering. However, he will awaken inside the Puzzling Seasoning Jar one day.]

[Once Obren awakens from inside the Puzzling Seasoning Jar, he will be able to get out of the seasoning jar every once in a while, with the help of the power of the ‘Evil God’s Book’.]

[Obren, when awakening from inside the Puzzling Seasoning Jar, can display his full power once!]

Minhyuk felt a little disappointed at the fact that Obren got weaker. However, that was only natural, since the Berserk Obren of the Past had taken some of his powers before. Besides, he had been asleep and sealed in the seasoning jar for a very, very long time. It was reasonable that his powers were weaker.

‘This is also a way to achieve balance to a certain extent.’

However, even if Obren was subjected to such restrictions, Minhyuk was confident that there would be a huge boost in his power, just by having the god by his side.

Just when Minhyuk thought that everything was over, another set of notifications rang in his ears.

[You have fulfilled the conditions for releasing the seal of the Sacred Papal Sword.]

[The sealed skill has been released after slaying a great evil.]

[The Active Skill: ‘Pope’s Sword’ has been created.]

It seemed like the power that had been sealed within the Sacred Papal Sword was finally released. Just when Minhyuk was about to check the details, Kronad, the popes, the priests, the paladins and the saints approached him.

“We are very grateful to you.”

These people had not yet gone to hell.

Pope Kronad was truly grateful to Minhyuk. He spoke emotionally, “Once, just once, we will run to your aid if you call for us.”

[Pope Kronad has promised to ‘lend you a helping hand’.]

This promise meant that the people here would unconditionally come to Minhyuk’s aid wherever they were, even if they were in hell. It was a very good reward.

“But why are you guys still here?”

“Do you want us to go to hell that quickly?”

Minhyuk did not bother to answer their question. It was not really like that. He was just actually wondering why Kronad, the popes, the paladins and the saints were still here.

Kronad smiled lightly. He was aware that that was not Minhyuk’s intentions. He said, “We will go when God Athenae wills it. More than that, boy, you look like you need a rest.”

The pope had caught the hints of fatigue and exhaustion on the man’s face. After checking that Obren had revived, the strength had left Minhyuk’s body and he was sorely tempted to sit around and take a good long rest.

‘I have gone too far and have done too much in Edea without taking any breaks.’

That was right. Minhyuk had completed many quests and even came to rescue Hanwoo the moment he stepped foot in Edea. After doing all of that, he immediately rushed to the Papal Wall, entered the lands within, and began the grueling work of harvesting crops and chopping firewood for several days. He was even dragged into the fight against the Berserk Obren of the Past, a fight that he never expected to be involved in.

‘I’m exhausted…’

It would not be strange for him to collapse right away. Actually, his eyes were already fighting to remain open.

“I’ll get some rest first,” Minhyuk said, logging out of the game without any hesitation.

***

After logging out of the game, Minhyuk headed towards the kitchen to get a drink of water.

‘I’ll sleep first then exercise after I wake up.’

Usually, Minhyuk would head out to exercise after he finished playing the game. However, he felt like he would lose consciousness and fall into a deep sleep the moment his head hit his pillows.

Just as he passed by the living room on his way to the kitchen, he heard the reports from the TV.

[There are plenty of doubts regarding the Episode: The God of Death and the Hell Corps’ Invasion this time.]

[That’s absolutely correct. From the current flow of the story, episodes related to the God of Death should only appear about half a year later.]

[However, the biggest question is why is an episode centered and targeting the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom?]

[Episodes are something that all of the players can enjoy. However, an episode broke out and targeted the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom out of the blue. It’s obvious that some player has been involved in this.]

[Conir was left in command of the troops up until this moment. And thanks to the Nasty Bichon, the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom was able to hunt a million of the Hell Corps.]

[Isn’t this part showing us how prepared the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom is in case of any sudden attacks or invasions?]

[However, none of the executives from Beyond the Heavens have arrived yet…]

[There are rumors that the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s King, Food God Minhyuk, has been neglecting the management of the kingdom and opting to focus on the temple operations…]

[As we speak, the God of Death has pushed forward and sent all of his forces to advance…]

“…”

Minhyuk felt his consciousness immediately clearing because of the scene on the TV. The world within the confines of the Papal Wall was closed off. It was a place where communication, including whispers and guild chats, were completely restricted. Fortunately, the invasion had only begun.

‘Who the hell…’

It was obvious that some players were deliberately targeting their kingdom. However, rather than thinking deeply about the cause of the matter, it was far more important for Minhyuk, the king, to hurry back to his kingdom.

Minhyuk rushed to the kitchen and drank a glass of cold water to clear his mind up. Then, he accessed Athenae once again.

***

What kind of existence was Black Dragon Vormon? He had been hunted and killed by the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom during the Continental War that happened a while back. Back then, the members of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom had unleashed all their strength at the critical moment, which allowed them to hunt him down.

However, there was one thing for certain right now. Black Dragon Vormon was the greatest monster in existence. After all, he was a being that could use several 8th tier magic and could utilize 6th to 7th tier magic without regard.

Crackle—

But right now, he had disappeared and turned into ashes, just by being stabbed in the neck by Spear God Ben with his spear. Vormon’s eyes, which trembled and shook at the sight of Spear God Ben, was clearly imprinted in Rex’s consciousness. There were also these notifications.

[Black Dragon Vormon is gripped by extreme fear at the sight of Spear God Ben!]

[Black Dragon Vormon is trembling so hard to the point that he can’t control his body anymore!]

‘A dragon, the greatest existence on earth, was afraid?’

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The Beyond the Heavens’ troops shouted loudly as they faced the four million-strong Hell Corps, composed of demonic beasts, and soldiers. The enemy even had 200 gryphons flying above the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom while carrying Hell Warriors.

[The legendary monsters Gryphons are flying in a pack!]

[Their levels are expected to be around Level 530. And they are even carrying Hell Warriors with them.]

[If the Hell Warriors jumped down inside the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, they would surely add to the chaos and confusion.]

“Kihyeeeeeeeeeeck!”

“Kyaaaaaaaaaack!”

“Kyahaaaaaaaaaaack!”

Just like what the commentators have mentioned, the gryphons were legendary monsters. It was a rare sight to see such monsters charge swiftly and turn into a black light while carrying Hell Warriors on their backs.

Spear God Ben, with his Terrius-like black hair fluttering behind him, glared sharply at the flying gryphons. Then, he spoke, “Absolute Pinnacle Spear.”

Stab—

“Kihyeeeeeeeeeeck!”

A spear of light appeared in the sky above them and pierced through one of the gryphons. Just like a signal, countless spears of light rained down from the sky and shot down the flying gryphons.

Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab—

“…!”

Rex’s eyes grew wide in shock.

At the same time, the gates of the castles began to open.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Woaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The Beyond the Heavens’ Cavalry, along with 20,000 soldiers charged forward.

‘Their aura and momentum changed…?’

Rex found it unbelievable. The disorderly and messy Beyond the Heavens troops suddenly turned into a well-organized and disciplined army.

Elainey, the Sword of the Gods that specialized in the spear, stepped forward.

“…”

At that moment, Rex realized that he did not need to fear. After all, there were two Sword of the Gods by his side.

Elainey was ranked 18th among the Sword of the Gods. Nevertheless, he was someone that could not be ignored. The Sword of the Gods were god-like existences in this world. They had received the protection of the gods.

[Sword of the God Elainey. Level 683.]

Furthermore, Elainey’s level was at Level 683. Just like mentioned before, Rex was a very meticulous man. The last time Spear God Ben fought in a battle, it was against the Corrupted God. Even if he still had the power from back then, there was no way that Spear God Ben would win against Elainey.

‘There’s no way that the Spear God can grow any further than that.’

All NPCs had potential. The number indicated in their potential determined how much an NPC could grow and develop. Rex had assumed that Spear God Ben was only a temporary Spear God and had only reached that level thanks to that unknown spear. That was why he thought he could safely leave him to Elainey.

At that moment, a pair of white wings sprouted from Elainey’s spear, and he immediately launched an attack.

Shwaaaaaaa—

[Spear Explosion]

[The spear, with an additional 6,600% attack power, will shoot like a light and exterminate and destroy everything within a sixty meter radius.]

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

The spear shot like a light, shooting above the ground followed by an explosive sound, and headed straight towards the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom cavalry and the troops charging behind them. Spear God Ben stood in the path of the incoming spear.

A mocking snarl appeared on Rex’s face, “That imbecile…”

Then, Spear God Ben raised his spear and tried to stop the spear charging at the speed of light.

[Spear God’s Bull.]

[The Spear God’s Bull, with an additional 6,800% attack, will charge forward and trample on everything and everyone within a 100 meter radius.]

[Everything and everyone that the Spear God’s Bull makes contact with will suffer from an abnormal status!]

[You have equipped the God Piercing Spear!]

[The one that wields the God Piercing Spear will receive a 1.4x increase in all skill damage!]

[Spear God’s Bull’s damage will increase to 9,520%!]

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump—

The earth shook and the sky rumbled as a tremendous amount of light shot out from the tip of Spear God Ben’s spear. It turned into the figure of a bull and met Elainey’s spear head on.

Rumbleeeeee—!

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang—

Elainey’s spear of light was pushed back and trampled upon. The bull figure did not stop there, as it continued to charge forward and sweep away some of the Hell Corps behind.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

Spear God Ben’s eyes made contact with Elainey. Then, at that moment, the inevitable happened.

[Spear God’s Authority has been activated.]

The passive skill: Spear God’s Authority attached to Ben’s God Piercing Spear was triggered. The Spear God’s Authority was a skill that could either subdue enemy spear masters or make them into Ben’s allies.

“…”

Rex, who saw Elainey make eye contact with Spear God Ben, finally realized that something was wrong. He could see how Elainey’s hands were shaking as he gripped his spear tightly.

[Sword of God Elainey is terrified of the enemy!]

In front of a True God, the Sword of the Gods was nothing but a weak being.